[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6428888,"mediaKeyId","5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657","parentId",5893528,"title","Alton ZBA grants contractor's yard for Lundy on Miramichi Hill Road over abutter objections","audioSeconds",4411,"startMs",5684000,"endMs",10095000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657&start=5684&end=10095","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657/thumbnail_5684000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6428888/New-Hampshire/Alton-ZBA-grants-contractors-yard-for-Lundy-on-Miramichi-Hill-Road-over-abutter-objections","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6428888-d850c2f0aaef40a7d9a2ecdd1f1d3e1a/orig.mp4?Expires=1775531933&Signature=gbPeJ0ur9jZMTojyURTsLOnMfQ8W8hECnuI0ydvoMHdE94qXqqKG6B41qnjQBHCMv1KH8lKAeAZYuMeF24-9~ZSu3qqLLLXVJh7OuqVlVdIN~KZ4TQypDQ6RIXy6kfxTHwaS87J2hHEcru~9Uk0~VZGHg1G7LkU0FDyn7jDhgubJiuUo~QRDXymdqFO-3scEf~qp08VSEggCYRvA6aM98m-45lXZinieqFvRysYWIfccWkzDvBKVA-Ahs7VoVeAcaw242JuEKHvi4Sc~ZTHli1cVLK-G8oOhXKdgd8kdLZe6~V4dNdPWtu1HoHZViZp7uf~AMuk4nHjXBDYQ7MZi-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Alton, NH","date","2025-10-03T02:47:17Z","article","The Alton Board of Adjustment voted 3–2 Oct. 2 to grant a special exception allowing a contractor’s yard and construction of a four-bay garage on Map 15, Lot 9‑3‑1 at the corner of Route 28 and Miramichi Hill Road. The decision followed lengthy public comment, with several abutters urging denial and others voicing support.

The application, filed by Changing Seasons Engineering as agent for owner Richard Lundy, would allow Lundy’s excavating/contracting business to consolidate equipment and limited stockpiles on a 12‑acre parcel addressed in the record as near Route 28 and Miramichi Hill Road. The plan shown to the board indicated a proposed 50‑by‑100‑foot building with garage doors facing the interior of the lot, parking and screened stockpile areas; erosion-control and stormwater measures were designed along the Route 28 frontage; and berms and vegetated buffers were proposed along residential lot lines.

Lundy and his agent told the board the site would be used to park equipment and keep materials for the business’s own use, not for retail sales. Lundy described his operation to the board: \"we go to work every day. . . . we're off doing jobs all over town,\" and said most trucks leave the site each morning for jobs and return at the end of the day. He also said he is not proposing crushing or selling gravel on site; occasional screening and stockpiling for his own jobs was described.

Several abutters opposed the proposal, citing safety at the Miramichi‑to‑Route‑28 intersection, increased heavy-vehicle traffic on narrow town roads (including seasonal 6‑ton spring limits on some nearby roads), noise, dust and loss of tree buffers. Kathy Fairman, an abutter, said the intersection with Route 28 is banked and at highway speeds and that \"it is not a safe entrance or exit for a large vehicle.\" Other opponents supplied letters arguing that property values and the rural character of Miramichi Hill Road would be harmed.

Supporters who live nearby said the parcel is a reasonable location for small‑scale contractor storage and would capture tax revenue without adding school impact; one nearby resident told the board he saw little daytime disturbance from similar operations.

During the worksheet and deliberations board members split on some criteria but concluded the proposed mitigation (tree buffers, engineered berms and stormwater controls) and the site’s location near Route 28 made the use allowable with conditions. The approvals shown to the board included limits on hours of operation (applicant said proposed hours are 7 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday and 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday), a prohibition on retail sales and crushing on site, and a requirement that stockpiles be placed and vegetated behind the proposed roadside buffer/basin. The board’s vote to approve the special exception was 3 in favor, 2 opposed.

Case and clarifying details: the applicant described the building as approximately 50 by 100 feet and about 26 feet high; the lot area referenced in the hearing was about 12 acres; the proposed driveway off Miramichi Hill Road would be roughly 400 feet from the Route 28 intersection along the Miramichi frontage; the applicant said materials stored on site would be for his own use and not for public sale. The planning board will still review any required site-plan conditions following ZBA approval.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","ZBA Meeting 10-2-25","oneSentenceSummary","The Alton Board of Adjustment approved a special exception Oct. 2 allowing a contractor’s yard and a four-bay garage for Richard Lundy at Miramichi Hill Road (Map 15 Lot 9-3-1) by a 3–2 vote, after the applicant agreed to buffers, berms and limits on materials and hours.","taxTitle","Alton Town, Belknap County, New Hampshire","taxId",74073,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6428890,"Alton ZBA denies request to formalize contractor's yard at Swan Lake Trail",5022,643000,5665000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657&start=643&end=5665","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657/thumbnail_643000.jpg","/articles/6428890/New-Hampshire/Alton-ZBA-denies-request-to-formalize-contractors-yard-at-Swan-Lake-Trail","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6428890-551a0c05b6f26f130fa5c3378b57aa61/orig.mp4?Expires=1775531933&Signature=XpdiqJevrzOX3vajPBgeu8mLfW-Qs4VVF5QQ1mfQ4WVjOUkF-9AE-lX~r4NzzIU2eASR8Viek9EvJgUwcZOo2mw~5lkWkeVRQadWA1Lkulg1nK3l02H4rh6rmu67WNG0bHyPZQixaUdTnGoGQoY8d2SfshUGT8ym800WYbc9tJK~DzG8EYHKrWtqsyBc9ScKfE8e-2B6HqFWUL40adyjCSxZbnb9YaOKFbTJsLi9tdedaNaG2U5H5Ca9F-PSmXL16ImiCpVnL4pOfWUa4WqKDwywHMitcF6CAbRug7nL~N4~ccDVl4WcdoSKEcT8Jmvpe7bxIRFhYwOQijhj6~GbiA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Alton Board of Adjustment denied a special-exception request Oct. 2 for a contractor’s yard at Map 11, Lot 2813 (Swan Lake Trail), concluding the use is not appropriate for the subdivision and presents nuisance and covenant concerns. The vote followed about two hours of testimony from the applicant, neighbors and board members.

The application asked the board to allow a contractor’s yard in the Rural Residential zoning district under Article 400 §401(d)(17). The site — a roughly 16-acre residual lot accessed from Swan Lake Trail — already contains a 42-by-95-foot metal building used to store lawn-care equipment, several pickup trucks and multiple snowplows. The applicant said five employees typically meet at the site in the morning and then leave for jobs; the building currently has no electric service and there is no septic on the parcel. The applicant said materials are not sold from the site and that a compost pile of leaves and grass is contained in a former excavation hole on the lot.

Supporters said the operation is small-scale and considerate of neighbors. David Ohlwein, of 55 Swan Lake Trail, told the board, \"we hardly notice that it's there,\" and said he has no safety concerns with the operation. Terry Hollacker, a neighbor, also provided written support, saying the business has been a positive contribution to the area.

Opponents — including several abutters who presented time-stamped video and daily traffic logs from home security cameras — argued the volume and character of commercial traffic have changed the character of the dead-end subdivision and created safety and privacy problems. Johnny and Jacqueline Dodge, abutters who provided extensive time-stamped clips and a daily tally, told the board that commercial vehicles accounted for a majority of daily traffic on many days this summer and that the activity is \"a major infringement on my privacy,\" according to Jacqueline Dodge. The opponents also submitted broker assessments asserting the presence of a contractor’s yard would lower nearby residential property values.

Board members ran the application through the special-exception worksheet. Members differed on parts of the worksheet, but the panel found the site inappropriate and that valid objections had been presented by abutters; members also concluded there was an undue nuisance from vehicular traffic. One member recused earlier in the hearing. After discussion, the board voted to deny the special exception. The motion to deny was made by Tim Morgan and seconded; the board recorded a 4–0 vote to deny (four members voting, one recused).

The denial means the applicant cannot rely on the proposed special-exception use at that location; any future use change would require a new application. The applicant and his agent indicated they would pursue other avenues (such as planning-board review if eligible) but no planning-board approval for a contractor’s yard was granted prior to the ZBA decision.

Case details and clarifying items: the lot is described by the applicant as roughly 16 acres; the existing metal building is about 42 by 95 feet; the applicant reported five employees who meet on-site in the morning and occasional stockpiled snowplows and equipment; no on-site electric service to the building was reported and no septic system serves the building at the time of the hearing. Neighbors estimated the compost pile at roughly 50–100 cubic yards and said it is contained in a former excavation hole; the applicant said the pile is leaves and clippings and is periodically turned. The board considered a deed restriction described in earlier conveyances that opponents say limits Swan Lake lots to single-family residential use, and members said that restriction weighed against allowing the contractor’s yard.","The Alton Board of Adjustment on Oct. 2 denied a special-exception request by the operator of a landscaping business to formalize a contractor's yard on Swan Lake Trail after extensive public comment and a board finding that the site conflicted with deed restrictions and created an undue nuisance.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6428884,"Alton ZBA continues administrative appeal over two-year special-exception timing to Nov. 6 for legal review",6445,10206000,16651000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657&start=10206&end=16651","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5893528-8f96c6cb438c3cc3b992f6c609044657/thumbnail_10206000.jpg","/articles/6428884/New-Hampshire/Alton-ZBA-continues-administrative-appeal-over-two-year-special-exception-timing-to-Nov-6-for-legal-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6428884-e04ed57c2acbb8b711480c77deef91ad/orig.mp4?Expires=1775531933&Signature=mytWAO1fORXxhZYM0KGOidzUx1nOW51KfKVWr6EQAXVcgXBOaCnUCcdwFUDjtmeHHz6TBdCg7O-KJycWh2cDq8bvLuoQ2DW78LOuxex18Yn8VCVYkXxuY2FB~Y9y9CYkaat5xlH9rRJDXKeor3~pFipuglgazRxz6JlcBhP4OSZYwXmIFFQkf76brivVRa28cEU7JRI4zogRmxpWTI-3eFRuypP3r99TAGfeuPekyKb~16IeaTJDENQ9s8gDAUQm7GjEziekv1GnsAhaIHdOZ03-nwRntNiKIyzLndn8ZfZVfI4yTet-1r9jGnMC-z30CreIKmvGoTa926aGCRKsaA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Alton Board of Adjustment voted to continue deliberations and obtain additional legal review on an administrative appeal (case Z25‑32) over the interpretation of state law that governs the lifespan of a special exception. The board set a continuation date of Nov. 6 to review legal memoranda and guidance before issuing a written determination.

The appeal, filed by Paul Manzioni, challenges a planning-board determination that a previously granted special exception remained effective because an appeal had been pending in court. Manzioni’s attorney, Steven Nicks, argued the plain language of RSA 674:33 and related rules means an appeal does not suspend the two‑year deadline to exercise a special exception; if an applicant needs more time they must obtain an extension from the zoning board or a court order. Nicks told the board that the statutory grammar and longstanding municipal guidance (New Hampshire Municipal Association and state zoning handbook guidance) support his reading.

Opposing counsel for the property interests (represented in the hearing by attorney Chris Boldt) argued the specific statutory provision enacted as part of RSA 674:33 (subparagraph 4) and the practical history of use should control and that the court‑appeal context here did not automatically extinguish the applicant’s ability to act. Boldt noted the town’s planning staff had treated the ruling as allowing planning-board action after the appeal ended and said the site had been used in reliance on prior approvals.

Board members heard detailed statutory and grammatical argument, plus public comment about local practice and precedent; several residents urged the board to \"do what is right\" and to consider long-time local practice. After extensive discussion the board decided it needed further legal review to weigh the competing statutory readings and to examine the planning-board record; the board continued the appeal to Nov. 6 to obtain that advice and to allow members time to review submitted legal materials.

Action taken: the ZBA continued the administrative appeal to its Nov. 6 meeting and directed staff to obtain additional counsel or legal analysis to provide the board a written memorandum comparing the competing statutory interpretations and the effect of any court orders in the record.

Background and clarifying points: the underlying permit process began with a ZBA special-exception decision issued April 7, 2022, that later was appealed to the Superior Court and to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Counsel cited RSA 677:9 and the court rules concerning stays and restraining orders; Nicks emphasized that an appeal to the Supreme Court does not itself stay lower-court orders absent a stay request in the lower court. The board did not resolve the legal question Oct. 2 and instead sought additional legal review.","The board continued an administrative appeal about whether court appeals suspend the two‑year window for exercising a special exception under RSA 674:33, scheduling further deliberations Nov. 6 to obtain outside legal guidance after extended legal argument from both sides.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Alton ZBA grants contractor's yard for Lundy on Miramichi Hill Road over abutter objections

Alton ZBA denies request to formalize contractor's yard at Swan Lake Trail

Alton ZBA continues administrative appeal over two-year special-exception timing to Nov. 6 for legal review